Arkansas entrepreneur founded Aromatique, a maker of ‘decorative fragrances’

Patti Upton, a homemaker and former model, was at loose ends in the early 1980s. Her twin sons were growing up and no longer needed constant attention. Then a friend, who ran a gift shop in Heber Springs, Ark., asked Ms. Upton to create a Christmas decoration for the store.

Ms. Upton gathered pine cones, acorns and other natural debris from her lawn, mixed in spices and oils and called her concoction the Smell of Christmas. The...